Six years later, my life would've ended sooner if I hadn't met a strong-willed woman who saved me from drowning in depression at the first three months after the accident.
She works part-time at the water company who checks the tenants' exterior meter and realized my apartment's usual consumption was incredibly low and it was almost a month has passed since I came back from the hospital.
The doctor suggested for me to go to a therapist after a few weeks of hospitalization because my injury hasn't fully recovered yet I can't stay there forever or I'll end up broke from the private room's daily bills.
He told me not to panic and that time heals all wounds as long as I have the will to do so.
However, my emotional state around the time was too vulnerable that I ended up going back in the same hospital from dehydration.
This nice lady named Sooha six years younger than me, called the ambulance to save me, because even my family had no clue what happened to me and since I'm the only one "unsuccessful" within our family of professors tree, I feel like I'd only cause unnecessary problems if I tried to tell them I just got fired from my first job and worse, needs a nanny.
It's not like I hate teaching or students but more of I wanted to become someone successful with my own skills, not from their influence.
This young girl who is mature enough to focus on reaching her goals no matter how hard and long it will take, became my best friend and partner at the pastry shop on Jeju island I started a year later, using all the money my old company has given me.
It seats ten people at most, on a horizontal high chair bar-type table setting with adjustable wooden walls in between to prevent the spread of infection even if the government has already lifted the limitations and to provide privacy for those who need it as well.
I mainly do the selling and computations while Sooha does the cooking and preparations because it's her passion. We open around seven to eleven in the morning and two to five in the afternoon to maximize sales without ending up exhausted from all the work.
It was slow at first, particularly when we weren't "known" back then. We don't have to deal with persistent and entitled bloggers who sometimes threaten us to write bad reviews if we refuse to feed them or worse, their whole group for free.
We might've grown a bit since then but it was actually better when it's just the neighborhood that's consuming our goods. Everyone were chill, mind their own business and it's just… peaceful.
Today was another hectic morning and I don't really feel energetic at all, probably because of the headache from getting drenched by the rain yesterday afternoon when I had to run a few blocks away to save our clothes hanging on the balcony of a two-story, two-bedroom studio-type apartment.
All I wanted was to take a rest and close the shop this afternoon because I know it's gonna be hard for her to do everything by herself.
However, some random group of "vloggers" came in and ordered a bunch of our pastries for their upcoming show and I wasn't able to stop it because Sooha already welcomed them in.
Oh how I wished I could melt into something and be able to leave the premises without being seen.
And to think the person I don't want to even see me instantly recognized my face under the white hat and uniform I was wearing at the very second I was about to turn around.
Fuma didn't waste a second and called my name aloud, full of excitement and triggered more curious faces into my position, specifically the guy I never knew I missed a lot until our eyes met.
K looks so much more mature in terms of his body mass, complimented by his simple white shirt and grey casual pair of suits though his face barely aged at all.
The wider and now defined jaws actually looked good on him because of his height and his shoulder-length ash-blond hair ties all the changes that made him an even more handsome man.
His intense gaze was too overwhelming as usual so I tried to ignore him the best I could.
I wanted Sooha to read between the lines and deny the resemblance of my past face and body against the new me but she ended up calling me to join them in front of the display case.
My thick bone structure still makes up about seventy percent of my whole mass but I drastically lost weight on most parts, especially on my fluffy cheeks compared when I was working in the idol industry.
It wasn't an ideal situation but if I'm being honest, the deep wound I got that never healed was the main reason I changed.
Not that I avoid eating to look appealing. More like I totally lost appetite and overall attraction to any kind of food that I haven't even held anything or visited the kitchen by my own will ever since.
I just consume food for survival nowadays and the sole reason is I want to see Sooha achieve her dreams to be a well-known pastry chef and a successful businesswoman because I see my younger self on her.
The struggles she faced at work full of misogynists and yet still managed to work with a smile everyday is what influenced me to keep going.
"(Y/N) how are you?!"
Fuma's wide smile as he approached the kitchen made me tear up. He acted like six years never passed, however, K's expression is unwaveringly scary.
He looks like he's mad and he's not even hiding it.